Are You Trying to Get Caught?
by succubitches
Summary: Written for Lost Girl AU Week on tumblr. Lauren, a common burglar, meets a little bit of trouble when another thief enters the house she buglarizing. To ensure she doesn't get caught, she teaches the much younger bandit a few tricks.


With the black hood of her sweatshirt covering her sandy blonde hair, she wandered out of the deserted alleyway and into the fire-exit of a high-rise apartment building. Despite only being used for emergency, these doors were rarely locked and Lauren had found them the easiest way into her target house.

She had been stalking this particular apartment for weeks. She knew the times in which the occupants came and left, she knew the pets they had, she even knew that the security system sticker they have in their window was a fake. But when she saw the residents leaving the apartment handing the cat off to a neighbor while rolling suitcases behind them she knew it was her time to strike.

She chose to walk the six flights of stairs rather than taking the elevator up to avoid being filmed on an elevator security camera. Lauren has been a _successful_ thief for eight years, and her unsuccessful years taught her trivial things like where security cameras were often located. Keeping her head positioned down and to the left she ascended the stairs until she reached the sixth level.

Apartment number 642 was down the hall and towards the right, Lauren had walked the hall several times earlier in the week. Reaching into the back pocket of her black jeans, she pulled out her lock-pick set. Using her torsion wrench and hook pick, she began the procedure used to unlock the door. When she first started picking locks, this procedure took ten minutes, but her continuous practice brought the time down to under a minute.

Locking the door behind her, she sought out to search for some form of treasure. Skipping the usual TVs and laptops, Lauren selected objects that would more regularly go unnoticed like a rare set of cuff links or a small crystal statue. By the time the residents noticed these objects missing, Lauren would have already sold them, and would be on her way to the next town.

She walked into the largest bedroom when she heard the apartment door being unlocked. Quickly hiding in the closet, she wondered how she missed another occupant living in the apartment. Lauren watched the other dweller make their way into the same bedroom and they began stuffing anything, and everything into a large pillowcase. Realizing she was not the only person who decided tonight was a good night for pilfering, Lauren burst out of the closet.

"Hey," she stage whispered at the other thief, "are you trying to get caught?"

Startled the other woman turned around to see Lauren, "Fuck," She spoke as she began running towards the exit dropping her stuffed sack.

"No, stop," Lauren said, a little louder than before to catch the other thief's attention. "We had the same idea, and I'm not going to stop you but you have to be more careful. I'd rather not get caught." The other thief turned around to face Lauren and Lauren noticed how young the woman was. "You need to put everything you took back where it came from." Lauren's voice was back to a whisper. "Why aren't you wearing gloves?"

"What are you, a professional?" The other woman's voice was sharp and cynical. She used her ungloved hand to tuck a strand of black hair behind her right ear.

"Well, you being here is messing up my fail-proof plan." Lauren began placing objects in their designated spots, hoping that the home owners weren't particularly precise on the exact locations. "Let me teach you a few trick so you don't get caught, okay?"

"Fine," Pulling her sleeves to cover both her hands, the other thief started to help replace the stolen objects.

"I'm Lauren," Lauren nodded.

"Kenzi."

"Come here," Lauren ushered the shorter woman over. "Here is the jewelry that the woman wears most of the time. You can tell because it's _on_ her dresser. If you want to take something from here, only take a pair of earrings or a bracelet, something small, so she won't notice right away." Lauren handed Kenzi a small pair of expensive looking-diamond earrings. Lauren then opened the top drawer. "This is the expensive stuff. She shouldn't look in here for a couple of weeks, assuming she's not going anywhere fancy. Take whatever you want. But leave most of it. It will be obvious someone was here if it's all missing."

Kenzi looked through the box, opting for a large emerald necklace. "Why are you helping me?" Kenzi asked.

Placing her own items in her bag Lauren turned to the young human. "You're young. I know the tricks to not getting caught because I've been doing this for a long time. I can teach you so that you don't have to go through what I did at your age. Fourteen, right?"

"Fifteen actually." Kenzi began to blush and turned away. No one ever cared about the 'street rat' before. "Do you ever take electronics, 'cos I could use a new DVD player."

After they finished taking what they wanted, Lauren and Kenzi stood at the entrance to the apartment. "Did you take the elevator up?" Lauren asked the small thief and Kenzi nodded. "Okay, I'll take your loot and meet you in the back alley. I don't want the security cameras catching you carrying stuff out."

Kenzi reluctantly handed Lauren her stuffed pillowcase, still not trusting the blonde fully. "Thanks, Lauren."

"I could walk you home, if you wanted." Lauren realized that a fifteen-year-old, who had already started burglarizing houses, probably didn't have a stable one of her own, "Or, you could stay with me. I know this might seem creepy, but I have a spare room, and I could teach you more. Someone with talent like you shouldn't be living on the street."

Despite her original worry about the other thief, Kenzi trusted Lauren. Why would Lauren coach her just to turn her into the police? Besides, she didn't have anywhere worthwhile to return to. "Fine, but I need to grab a few things first. Do you mind?"

"Not at all." Lauren was internally excited, she always wanted an intern, although when growing up she expected another profession, doctor maybe.

The two thieves exited the apartment and Lauren began locking the door. "Okay, I'll meet you in the back alley."

-fin


End file.
